I don't know where this recipe came from originally, but it's so amazing! I first had it at a friend's house last year and I make it frequently now. This time I made it with my mini bundt pan. The plan was to put two of them together and make it look like the shape of a pumpkin. I frosted it with a maple frosting and had really good intentions of making it all cute and stuff, but it didn't happen. It still tasted amazing though. I love the pumpkin bread and maple frosting combo for sure! It was really good with a powdered sugar dusting as well though. Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
1 1/3 C vegetable oil 5 eggs 15 oz can pumpkin ---beat well--- 2 C flour 2 C sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp baking soda 3 oz vanilla pudding mix ---add to pumpkin mixture---
Bake at 350 for 1 hour in a greased loaf pan.
I also made some good pumpkin fudge truffles. Basically, pumpkin fudge rolled in balled and dipped in chocolate. I normally don't like the pumpkin and chocolate chip mixture much, but these were actually pretty good! Pumpkin Fudge
3 C sugar 3/4 C melted butter 2/3 C evaporated milk 1/2 C canned pumpkin 2 T corn syrup 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 12 oz package white chocolate chips 1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme 1 C chopped pecans, toasted 1 tsp vanilla extract
Stir together sugar, butterm milk, pumpkin, corn syrup and pumpkin pie spice in a sauce pan over medium high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook until you get to the soft ball stage, about 12 minutes.
Remove pan from heat, stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a foil lined greased 9 inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool.
If you want to make truffles out of it, roll it into balls before completely hardened and let harden on wax paper on a cookie sheet. Melt 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and pour into a deep mug. Dip fudge balls in chocolate and let harden back on the wax paper.
I don't have enough photography skills to take pictures that would justify how good this meal is. I'm actually quite embarrassed by the pictures so you'll just have to take my word. I crave this chili and especially the cornbread and it hits the spot like no other food does in the cold winter months. I usually make the chili in a crock pot a few days before I'm actually ready to eat it. The flavor just gets better with time. It makes a lot too so we eat what we want the one night and freeze the rest. You can just imagine what my freezer looks like right now. I have about 12 quart sized bags of frozen soups and chili now.
Chili 2 lb cooked ground beef 2 cans kidney beans 4 large onions, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 bay leaves 1 quart tomatoes 2 quarts tomato or vegetable juice 1 T cumin 1 T salt 3/4 tsp curry cayenne pepper to taste; I'm not a fan at all of spicy food so I barely put any in for me.
Put it all in a crockpot and cooke until warmed through. Remove bay leaves before serving. I'm not kidding when I tell you that this is the most moist and sweet cornbread you will ever eat. You really need to try it and you will never go back to any other cornbread!
Buttermilk Cornbread
1/2 C butter 2/3 C sugar 2 eggs 1 C buttermilk 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 C cornmeal 1 C flour 1/2 tsp salt
Melt butter. Stir in sugar and eggs and beat well. Combine buttermilk and baking soda then stir into butter mixture. Add cornmeal, flour, and salt. Stir until well mixed. Bake in greased 8x8 pan at 400 for 30 minutes and lightly browned on top.
What? It's Tuesday already? I almost forgot to post today's recipe. Before making this recipe, I really didn't like rice pudding, but it was good for me to make it since my husband likes it and it's a tradition in his family to have it on Christmas. Even though I don't like it, I had a lot of fun making it! We have this little place close by called Pudding on the Rice, and it's like an ice cream parlor with all different kinds of rice pudding instead of ice cream, so I made my rice pudding based on that place. I made chocolate and vanilla just like the recipe called for, but then I also made mint chocolate by adding a little peppermint extract to the chocolate, butterscotch rice pudding by melting some butterscotch chips into the plain pudding, and cinnamon rice pudding by melting cinnamon chips into the pudding. We had a fun little tasting party with some friends. The mint chocolate and cinnamon were my favorite and it actually tasted really good. Maybe I'm not a hater afterall!
Good choice of recipe from Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa! Check out her blog for the recipe or go get "Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan. Just a note, her blog is mostly in French, but there is some English and you can use the translator on the right hand side of her blog too. Don't forget to check out the blogroll as always!
I heard the average person gains at least 5 pounds from Halloween to Christmas. Ummm, I'm going to have to say that I'm just not average. I'm pretty sure I gain a lot more than that each year and this one will be no exception!
I'm totally feeling the mint chocolate already this holiday season. Here are some of the fun products I have found in stores:
(to be fair, I couldn't find a picture online anywhere of these so I stole this pic from this fun blog) These can be found at Walmart!
Only at TJ's which we don't have in Utah (poor me!) but I'm going to AZ for Thanksgiving and am totally going to stock up!
Can get these Fudge Mint Oreos pretty much anywhere
I got my mint miniatures at Walgreens because there was a $1 off coupon. The trouble is that I'm going to have to go back for more because I have eaten the whole bag by myself in a matter of 4 days. NO JOKE!
I haven't tried these ones yet, but I can't wait! I have so many memories of going to Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco growing up and I LOVE their chocolate! Sorry about the small pictures. Hopefully they enlarge okay if you click on them.
I can't wait to use these to make lots of Holiday treats like mint oreo truffles and milkshakes and lots more that I will surprise you with. For now, I'm going to go make my cream mint brownies that you may recall from brownie week. I've been craving them all week!
What fun limited edition treats have you found this Holiday Season?
Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl chose the Kugelhopf recipe this week. I have to be honest and say that I was really not a fan at all, but I'm glad I tried it anyway. It was a little dry and just not much flavor even with all the butter that you drown it in. I couldn't even think of any way to add more calories. I just wasn't feeling it this week with the recipe.
I guess it smelled pretty good though because I had a visitor at my back door when it was baking.
What do you mean is that really a peacock? Don't you have wild peacocks running around your neighborhood?
Back to the Kugelhopf...I even tried to make french toast out of it the next morning and it still didn't do anything for me.
I am sure there will be recipes that I love and some that I can do without and that's why this is such a great group to be a part of. Someone else gets to choose things for me to bake that I wouldn't otherwise pick myself. For the full recipe go to Yolanda's blog, or buy the book. You know the drill by now. Be sure to check the TWD blogroll and see the other opinions of Kugelhopf.
What a better way to spend my Saturday than to be in the kitchen! My husband was absent all day due to it being football season, so as winter is quickly approaching I was busy getting prepared. I made 3 different kinds of soup, bagged them in quart size ziplock bags, and now they are patiently awaiting consumption in my freezer.
I highly recommend doing this, but here are some quick tips. -make sure the soup is completely cooled to room temperature before bagging. This will prevent condensation and frost from forming. -label and date the bags -lay them flat to freeze. The last thing you want is mishapen frozen soup that becomes awkward to fit in your freezer.
Minestrone Soup 1 lb ground beef 1 C chopped onions 1 C sliced carrots 1 C cubed potatoes 1/2 C sliced celery 1 can tomatoes 1 1/2 quarts water 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp basil 1 T salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1 beef bouillon cube 1 C macaroni or bowtie pasta
Brown ground beef in sauce pan and drain oil. Add onion and cook until the onion becomes transparent. Add all other ingredients. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add pasta of choice and cook for 15 minutes more.
makes 2 1/2 quarts
I highly recommend serving with my mom's Buttermilk Cornbread. That recipe will come soon! Creamy Potato Soup
4-5 celery stalks, diced 1 C butter 3-4 carrots, diced 1 1/2 C flour 2 qt water 2 T chicken bouillon (or 5 cubes) 1 medium onion, diced 3-4 potatoes, cubed 2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Put celery, potatoes, carrots, and onions in saucepan and add enough water to barely cover them. Boil about 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. In another pan, boil the 2 qts of water and add bouillon. Melt butter in a small bowl and add flour to thicken. Add butter/flour mixture to bouillon water and whisk until creamy. Add cheese and mix well. Add cooked vegetables with the water and simmer 10-15 minutes.
makes 3 quarts Vegetable Cheese Chowder
1 10 oz package frozen broccoli or cauliflower 1/2 C shredded carrot 1/2 C water 2 C milk 1/3 C flour 1/8 tsp pepper 1 14 oz can chicken broth 1 C shredded American cheese 1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese 2 T parsley
Combine vegetables and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for about 4 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender.
Whisk together milk, flour, and pepper in separate bowl. Add to saucepan and stir in broth. Cook until thick, stirring frequently. Add cheeses and parsley. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted and heated through.
makes 2 quarts
***a little note about defrosting the soup when you are ready to eat it...microwave for 2 minutes with the bag slightly open so the steam can escape, or let it sit on your counter for an hour or so just until it's defrosted enough that you can get it into a saucepan and heat the rest of the way on the stove.
I know what you are thinking...what the heck is Rugelach? That's what my first thought was anyway. Rugelach is a cream cheese pastry dough brushed with a warm marmalade and filled with nuts and raisins before rolling it up and baking it like a croissant. Well, that didn't sound at all like something I wanted to waste calories on, so as usual, I made some changes.
I brushed the dough with warm applesauce, sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar, and filled it with some caramel bits and white chocolate coursely chopped. It was absolutely to die for and I wasted all my calories on them until they were gone!
It's really important to chill the dough like the recipe calls for. I was too anxious with one of my batches and it just melted all over the place. Patience is a virtue! Be sure to use a liner on your pan regardless because it just makes the clean up that much easier. This recipe was chosen by Piggy of Piggy's Cooking Journal. You can find the recipe on her blog or in Baking, From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I recommend just buying the book. There are SO many good recipes so it's totally worth it!
Check out the TWD blogroll to see what other bakers did with their Rugelach!
Also, let me just throw in my two cents right now...don't forget to vote today!!! What an important election and awesome opportunity we have to express our opinions with our vote!
Wow! An overloading of cooking and posting is going on my house lately. I'm exhausted! But, nevertheless, I couldn't wait to share my Daring Baker's Pizza Party. This month, Rosa, of Rosa's Yummy Yums chose a recipe from “The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread” by Peter Reinhart. You can get the recipe from her blog. The recipe called for 4 1/2 C flour and I just couldn't bring myself to do it, so I did half whole wheat. It made a lot of dough too so I had to have some friends over for a make-your-own-pizza night and let everyone build their own personal pizzas. The kids had just as much fun doing it as the adults did so everyone was happy.
We had so much fun! We had a variety of sauces including tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, pesto, and ranch dressing. We had a whole bunch of toppings too like mozzarella cheese, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, olives, tomatoes, pine-nuts, bacon, caramelized onions, mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, and more! Our friends brought salad and bread-sticks from Olive Garden so we couldn't have asked for a better meal!
My personal pizza had BBQ sauce, lots of mozzarella cheese, crumbled bacon, pine-nuts, and goat cheese and it totally hit the spot!
Now on to better things...
To keep with the theme of the dinner party, I made a dessert pizza with a sugar cookie crust baked right on the pizza stone, 8 oz strawberry cream cheese blended with a jar of marshmallow cream for the "sauce", and topped it with lots of beautiful strawberries, mandarin oranges, and kiwi. I can't even tell you how refreshing and delicious this fruit pizza was. I could eat the whole thing right now! I took lots of pictures too, but I will spare from having to look at all 30 of them since you aren't even getting a bite of this beauty!
Okay, stop drooling and plan your own Pizza Party! Who doesn't love pizza?
This was my favorite Tuesday With Dorie so far because it's my favorite...lots of chocolate! It was a great choice by Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought!
I think I'm the only one who didn't do a Halloween themed cake, but I still had lots of fun adding variety to mine. All the batter made 3 of the cutest mini bundt cakes. I just got the mini bundt cake pan and this was the perfect opportunity to use it. One cake was filled with white chocolate chips, one with peanut butter chips, and my favorite had some peppermint extract added to the batter along with some mint chocolate chips. The cake was super moist and delicious. The glaze was incredible and I loved the little crunch of the chocolate sprinkles on top. I really can't wait to make this recipe again very soon! Happy Birthday to my good friend, Jen, today! If you weren't all the way across the country from me, I would love to share this cake with you! Love you lots and hope you have a great day!
Also, Tanya, from Sunday Baker is celebrating her first blog-a-versary! To celebrate she is doing some really good giveaways, recipes, discussions, and other fun things so be sure to check it out. Mention in your comment that I sent you so I can get an extra entry in the giveaway! Thanks and congratulations, Tanya!
Don't forget to check out the other Tuesdays With Dorie Bakers on the blogroll!
A typical Progressive Dinner is an event where a group of people travel from one house to another having a different course of a meal at each house. At our progressive dinner, instead of traveling from house to house, we took a trip around the world to experience each course in a different country.
We started our travels in China where we enjoyed some Crab Rangoons with sweet and sour sauce. This appetizer is actually an American Chinese dish, but it was named after Rangoon, which is the former capital city of Burma. These were delicious! The crab filling was very tasty and the sweet and sour sauce was a very nice complement. They were a hit!
CRAB RANGOONS
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces fresh crab meat or canned crab meat, drained and flaked
1 teaspoon red onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 green onion, finely sliced
1 large clove garlic, smashed, peeled, and finely minced
1 package won ton wrappers
1 small bowl water
Oil for deep-frying, as needed
Preparation:
Combine the cream cheese and crab meat. Mix in the remaining six filling ingredients (up to the wonton wrappers) one at a time.
On a flat surface, lay out a won ton wrapper in front of you so that it forms 2 triangles (not a square).
Add 1 teaspoon of filling to the middle, and spread it out toward the left and right points of the wrapper so that it forms a log or rectangular shape (otherwise the wrapper may break in the middle during deep-frying).
Fold over the edges of the wrapper to make a triangle. Wet the edges with water and press together to seal.
Keep the completed Crab Rangoon covered with a damp towel or paper towel to keep them from drying out while preparing the remainder.
Heat wok and add oil for deep-frying. When oil is ready (the temperature should be between 360 - 375 degrees), carefully slide in the Crab Rangoon, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve hot with Sweet and Sour Sauce.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
¾ C vinegar
2/3 C sugar
2 T ketchup
1 T Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch
4 tsp water
Boil vinegar, sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and salt together stirring constantly.
Mix cornstarch and water together and add to saucepan stirring frequently until desired consistency.
The second leg of our journey took us to Spain for a bowl of warm Creamy Almond Soup with homemade croutons. This soup had a very strong almond flavor. The croutons were a nice addition to it.
CREAMY ALMOND SOUP
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup blanched almonds (3 oz)
2 cups 1/2-inch bread cubes (from a baguette)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Note: Blanched almonds are simply almonds without their skin. If you are anything like me, you are probably thinking that can not be an easy task, but it really is and here is how you do it:
Put your almonds in a bowl and pour boiling water over them until they are just covered. Let them sit for 1 1/2 minutes, but no longer as they will lose their crispness. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain and rinse again with cold water. The skins should be lose now and you will be able to peel it off.
The next stop was in Greece to have Horiatiki; a traditional Greek salad centered around feta cheese and typically does not include lettuce. This was a very beautiful and colorful salad and the dressing was very popular with it.
Horiatiki
Ingredients:
4 ounces feta cheese
1 cucumber
1 red/green bell pepper
5 tomatoes
Black Olives - handful
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Red Wine vinegar
Olive oil
Assemble feta cheese and vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and serve.
After our short stay in Greece, we made a quick stop on France to pick up some fresh French Bread.
2 Hour French Bread
1 ½ C warm water
1 package dry yeast
1 T sugar
1 T oil
1 ½ tsp salt
4 C flour
2 T butter
sesame seeds (optional)
Combine water and yeast in glass or plastic bowl.Stir well with wooden spoon until yeast is dissolved.Add sugar, oil, and salt and stir well.Stir in flour and mix well.Cover and rise for 10 minutes.Stir down with spoon, cover and repeat process 6 times.
Form loaf by rolling into rectangle and then into a long loaf.Place on a greased cookie sheet.Slash diagonally 4-5 times with sharp serrated knife.Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
We continued on to India to try a vegetable curry dish. I am normally not a fan of curry dishes, but this flavor was so mild that I actually enjoyed it. It was so easy to cook it in a slow cooker too so that made it very appealing.
VEGETABLE CURRY
Ingredients:
3 potatoes, chopped
1 cauliflower, chopped
1 1/2 cups green peas
3 tomatoes, chopped
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
1 cup water
Place all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
Next we were off to Italy for Lobster Ravioli in a lemon butter sauce. This was absolutely amazing. It was a close tie between this and the crab rangoons as to what my favorite part of the meal was. These just tasted so fresh. The lobster filling was just perfect and the sauce just made all the flavors come together. Not exactly the healthiest thing on the menu, but so delicious!
Lobster Ravioli
Lobster Stuffing
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 ½ lbs. precooked lobster, chopped
2 leeks, white portion, chopped
½ tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Ground White Pepper
1 lb. Ricotta cheese
1 Egg
1/4 C. Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped fine
½ Tbsp. Fresh Thyme, chopped fine
Place olive oil and butter in a saute pan. Warm. Add lobster, leeks, salt, and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes. Remove ½ of lobster and set aside. In a bowl combine ricotta cheese, egg, cream, basil and thyme, and mix together. Combine cooled lobster mixture and leek mixture.
Filling the ravioli
1 pkg won ton/ravioli wrappers
Brush each won ton/ravioli wrapper with beaten egg. Place 1 tablespoon mound of lobster mixture in center of wrapper and place second wrapper on top. Seal edges well with fingertips. Keep covered with moist cloth or paper towel.
Lemon Butter Sauce
2 ½ C. Butter
½ Tbsp. Garlic chopped
½ tsp. Saffron - you can substitute with tumeric
1/4 tsp. Ground White Pepper
Juice from ½ lemon
1 C. Heavy Cream
½ lb. Cooked Lobster
Melt butter in a saute pan. Add garlic, saffron, and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and cream. Cook until well mixed. Add cooked lobster mixture and cook for 1 minute.
Serve by cooking ravioli for about 2 -3 minutes in a pot of boiling salted water. Remove from water and drain. Cover with sauce.
The final stop on our trip around the world was in Ireland for a rich Chocolate Irish Cream Truffle Cake. This cake was extremely rich and dark. The mint flavor was very mild, but the truffle layers in the middle were to die for. In fact, I can't wait to make actual truffles out of it for the holidays!
Chocolate Irish Cream Truffle Cake
Cake instructions: 12 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
1 c. plus butter or margarine, room temperature
1-1/2 c. Irish Cream (I used coffee creamer, but you can use an alcoholic Irish Cream as well)
1 c. milk
3 lg. eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-2/3 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans.
In a heavy 4-quart saucepan over low heat, heat 12 squares unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of butter, Irish Cream and milk, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
In a large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in warm chocolate mixture. Add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; continue beating until batter is smooth and well blended.
Pour batter evenly into 3 cake pans. Bake at 325F for 25 to 30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; invert cakes onto wire racks and cool completely. When cool, slice off rounded top to make it flat for frosting.
Truffle filling instructions: 4 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
2-1/2 c. confectioners sugar
6 tbsp. butter, room temperature
1/4 c. Irish Cream
In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over low heat, heat 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate, stirring frequently, until melted; cool slightly. Stir in confectioners sugar, butter and 1/4 cup Irish Cream until mixture is smooth and blended. (Mixture will be thick so you may have to finish mixing it with an electric mixer).
In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, over low heat, heat semi-sweet chocolate and Irish Cream, stirring frequently, until melted, smooth and slightly thickened; keep warm.
Assembly instructions: Semi-sweet chocolate mini chips for garnish
Place 1 layer of cake on a 12 inch cake plate. With a metal spatula, spread bottom cake layer with 1/2 of the truffle mixture. Top with middle layer, pressing down gently but firmly. Spread with the other half of the truffle mixture; top with top cake layer; pressing down gently but firmly.
Over the assembled cake, pour prepared warm glaze. With metal spatula, spread glaze to completely cover top and sides of cake. Sprinkle chocolate chips around the top edge and around the bottom of the cake.
Here are the cute girls we had to help us serve the food and even run a little daycare for everyone's kids. We had 4 couples come on our journey and 12 kids between us!
What a great night we had! We learned a lot about each place we traveled. We had great conversation and great company along the way. The food was fantastic and we've already decided where our next International Progressive Dinner is going to take us!
A big thank you to Foodbuzz for sponsoring this fun night! Check out the 24, 24, 24 link to see how the other participants spent their evening! Thank you to our friends who joined us for the evening and to our great helpers we had as well!
My name is Becky...and I'm a bake-aholic. My love for baking started at a very young age when my childhood friend and I would make chocolate chip cookies and tell a story as we did it. The butter represented homes in a small village, the sugar a snow storm, etc. For a long time I considered my recipes to be "secret". After all, they wouldn't be such a big hit among friends and family if everyone else was using them too. But, because so many others are willing to share on their food blogs, I decided it was time for me to do the same. Happy baking!
Pumpkin Fudge
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